Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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45. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to urgently address concerns (details supplied) and ensure that multi-grade classroom teacher pupil ratio will be given favourable consideration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38013/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The primary staffing schedule is a long-standing feature of the primary allocation system which ensures fairness and transparency in the allocation of mainstream class teachers across our primary schools. It is an important feature of the primary schedule that staffing levels remain aligned with actual student numbers in schools. The staffing appeals process is in place to allow schools the opportunity to appeal their teacher allocation, ensuring fairness and consistency.

The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The primary staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year are set out in Circular 0011/2025.

Class sizes in schools are affected by a variety of factors, including enrolment fluctuations and accommodation available.

Schools have the flexibility in the way in which they assign pupils and teachers to classes and the

Department does not allocate teachers to specific classes or age groups.

Posts allocated on the basis of the staffing schedule are specifically for mainstream classes. School authorities are requested to ensure that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible, taking all relevant contextual factors into account (classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment). In particular, school authorities should ensure that there is an equitable distribution of pupils in mainstream classes and that the differential between the largest and smallest classes is kept to a minimum. Given that the staffing schedule operates to a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils, if a school has a large class it generally also has a small class.

In recent Budgets, prioritisation was given to reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the most favourable ratio ever seen at primary level. A three-point reduction in the retention schedule, which was introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts.

Teacher numbers at primary level have reached the highest ever level in the current school year. Currently there are over 43,000 teaching posts allocated across the primary school system. This represents an increase of just over 5,000 teachers when compared with the 2019/20 year and this has led to a steady improvement in the pupil teacher ratio and average class size statistics during this period.

The latest figures in relation to pupil teacher ratio shows an improved ratio of teachers to pupils from 15:1 to 12.5:1 at primary level when comparing the 2019/20 school year to the 2023/24 school year. In the same period the primary staffing schedule improved from 26:1 to 23:1 and average class sizes at primary have improved from 24:1 to 22.5:1 in the same period.

The staffing arrangements includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain published criteria.

The staffing appeals criteria are set out in Circular 11/2025, and they include specific appeals for small schools, enrolments in the previous October, projected enrolments, accommodation difficulties, infant class sizes, and language support.

Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to aim to reduce the general pupil teacher ratio at primary level to 19:1 over the term of government and introduce targeted measures in schools with very large classes.

I am considering how best to make further progress, as part of the annual budgetary process, in reducing the primary pupil teacher ratio in the context of Programme for Government implementation.